4 ms·
> Rule 8: Controlling for a causal descendant (partially) controls for the ancestor perhaps this is a quaint or wildly off base question, but an honest one, pl
by chrsig 2y ago
> Rule 8: Controlling for a causal descendant (partially) controls for the ancestor
perhaps this is a quaint or wildly off base question, but an honest one, please forgive any ignorance:
Isn't this essentiallydefining the partial derivative? Should one arrive at the calculus definition of a partial derivative by following this?
- bubblyworld 2y agoYou probably could if you interpret that sentence very creatively. But I think it's useful to remember that this is mathematics, and words like "control", "descendant" and "ancestor" have specific technical meanings (all defined in the article, I believe). The technical meaning of that sentence has to do with probability theory (probability distributions, correlation, conditionals), and not so much calculus (differentiable functions, limits, continuity).